Biographies
MATS ALMGREN Laurent Roméo et Juliette Swedish bass Mats Almgren begins the 2017/18 season with appearances as Simone Gianni Schicchi and Pimen Boris Godunov at Göteborg Opera where he has been a soloist since 1998. Other roles there include Claggart Billy Budd, Basilio Barbiere di Siviglia, König Marke Tristan, Timur Turandot, Boris Ismailov Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Hunding Walküre, Pimen Boris Godunov, Gremin Onegin, Grand Inquisitor Don Carlos, Sarastro Flute, Javert Les Misérables, Ramfis Aida, Arkel Pelléas et Mélisande, Guardiano Forza del Destino, Gurnemanz Parsifal and Sparafucile Rigoletto. Recent guest appearances include Fafner and Hagen in Opera North’s Ring and in concert with Grange Park Opera as König Marke Tristan. For more than 20 years Mats has received training in the Japanese martial artform Aikido. He enjoys singing jazz and has released a CD with his two brothers who are jazz musicians. RICHARD BALCOMBE Conductor Oklahoma! Richard has conducted the BBC Concert Orchestra for more than 20 years and, since 2012, has conducted the Proms in the Park. He has appeared with Gothenburg Symphony, Orchestre National de Lille, Estonian National Symphony, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Prague Chamber Orchestra, LPO, RPO, RLPO, RSNO, CBSO, Halle, Bournemouth Symphony and Ulster Orchestras. Opera credits include Gondoliers (ENO), Magic Flute (English Chamber Orchestra), Barber of Seville (Ulster Orchestra). In the West End he has been Music Director of Phantom, Carmen Jones, Aspects of Love, Sweet Charity, Guys & Dolls and Follies. As orchestrator / arranger he has collaborated with Sir Willard White, Michael Ball, Ruthie Henshall and Will Young. Richard enjoys country and hill walking, entertaining his grandchildren and watching all types of sport. PRZEMYSLAW BARANEK Paris Roméo et Juliette / ensemble Born in Bydgoszcz, Poland where he studied, Przemyslaw then went to Milan where he worked with the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala. Roles include Scarpia Tosca (King’s Head Theatre), Alfonso Così fan tutte (Opera Holloway), Guglielmo Così, Leporello Don Giovanni (Opus Opera), Streshnev Khovanskygate (Birmingham Opera Company), Aeneas Dido & Aeneas, Dulcamara L’elisir d’amore (Opera Nova, PL). He covered the roles of Angelotti Tosca and Starek Jenufa at Grange Park Opera in 2017 and was a chorus member the previous year.
STEPHEN BARLOW Conductor Roméo et Juliette Stephen studied at Trinity‚ Cambridge and GSMD. He cofounded Opera 80 and is Artistic Director of the Buxton Festival where he has conducted Macbeth‚ Leonore‚ Lucia‚ Louise‚ Jacobin‚ La Princesse Jaune‚ La Colombe‚ Intermezzo and Barber of Baghdad. At Grange Park Opera, Stephen has conducted Walküre‚ Fanciulla del West‚ Capriccio‚ Rusalka‚ Tristan‚ Pique Dame‚ Dialogues des Carmélites‚ Peter Grimes‚ Falstaff and Norma. Recent and current projects include Cenerentola (Stuttgart)‚ Medeé and Koanga (Wexford Festival), Contes d’Hoffmann (Beijing)‚ Otello (Birmingham Opera Company), Rape of Lucretia‚ Owen Wingrave (Irish Youth Opera) and Midsummer Night’s Dream (GSMD). He has appeared at Glyndebourne, ROH, ENO, Scottish Opera and Opera North. He conducted his own opera King (Canterbury Cathedral), Rake’s Progress (Reisopera), Carmen, Faust, Nabucco (Australia) and Bluebeard’s Castle (Auckland Philharmonia). Recordings include Joseph James’ Requiem with Sumi Jo and his own composition Rainbow Bear with his wife‚ Joanna Lumley‚ as narrator. CLIVE BAYLEY Capulet Roméo et Juliette Born in Manchester, Clive sings regularly with the major opera companies in a diverse repertoire. Highlights of 2017/18 season include Peter Grimes (Frankfurt), title role Boris Goudnov (Gothenburg), Fafner Siegfried (Hallé Orchestra and repeated at the Edinburgh Festival). Appearances with Grange Park Opera include König Marke Tristan, title role Don Quichotte, Vodnik Rusalka, King Love for Three Oranges, Swallow Grimes, Philip II Don Carlos. Other notable appearances include Doctor Wozzeck (Metropolitan Opera), Astradamors Grand Macabre US première (San Francisco) and, at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Arkel Pelléas et Mélisande, Ulisse, Titurel Parsifal, Sylvano Calisto, Geronte Manon Lescaut and Achilla Giulio Cesare. In his spare time Clive enjoys listening to his record collection, reading, sport, wine and walking his Pom ‘Harvey’. TREVOR BOWES Silvano Ballo / ensemble Trevor Bowes is a full-time member of English National Opera where he has performed and covered over a dozen roles. He has performed with many leading UK companies including Opera North, Glyndebourne, London Handel Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, RSNO and in Russia, Germany and Canada. Upcoming appearances include Lackey Ariadne auf Naxos (OHP), Cappadocian Salome (ENO), and Trulove Rake’s Progress conducted by Barbara Hannigan.